Aspects of this invention are disclosed in Disclosure Document No. 366725 dated Dec. 12, 1994 and filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and hereby incorporated by reference.
Prior to the present invention a wide range of injector designs have been employed to effectively deliver insecticides, fungicides, and fertilizers to trees and other plants. Among widely used systems are those which involve a liquid feeder or injector tube that is inserted into the tree so that the tapered tip extends below the bark and provides a feed opening that communicates with the xylem of the tree. The tip of the feeder tube may extend into the heart wood for secure anchorage of the feeder tube and the associated treatment containing capsule or container to the tree.
While treatments through such systems are generally successful, they usually require the operative installation of the feeder tube and capsule assembly into the tree at the soil line; preferably into visible root flares or into the exposed trunk or stem immediately above the root flares when not visible. After the feeder tube and capsule assembly is initially mounted in the tree, a block or diaphragm in the capsule is broken to open a passage between the capsule and its feeder tube. The capsule is then turned on the stationary feeder tube from a downward "no flow" position to an upward position in which the fluid contents in the capsule flow through the assembly and enter the xylem at the injection site.
Under such conditions the capsule and feeder tube assembly are exposed to damage or destruction from many sources such as vandalism, lawn and garden equipment, vehicles including scooters, bicycles and motor bikes and other conveyances, as well as animals and adverse weather. To prevent the disturbance, destruction or misuse of such feeder tube and capsule assemblies, the present invention provides a new and improved protective cover which can be readily and securely attached to a tree and over the operating treatment assembly to conceal and protect the assembly from children, inquisitive persons and animals and to prevent the disturbance thereof. Importantly, this invention eliminates any need for human monitoring of the administration of the treatment by the feeder assembly since it is protected by the cover.
Preferably, specialized fasteners are used with the cover which require special tools to drive them into and from cover anchorage position on the root flares so that cover removal by an unauthorized person lacking such tools is difficult.
With this invention, the capsule and injector tube assembly is isolated from the natural or outside environment so that weather conditions such as rain, strong winds, foreign matter will not disturb the assembly. Furthermore, the inside walls of the cover are spaced from the capsule so that the capsule will be blocked from turning from an upwardly directed fluid agent delivery position to a downwardly directed "no flow" position.
The cover is readily adaptable to a wide range of tree sizes and can be easily installed on the varying sized root flares.
In this invention, the cover can be molded from suitable plastics materials such as polypropylene or other thermoplastic material having some flexibility and resilience, a good resistance to impacts and stress cracking. Also, such covers are generally not adversely affected by a wide range of chemicals or chemical compounds such as may be associated with fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides.
In one preferred embodiment of this invention, a shell like cover is molded into the form of an open ended container that is sized to closely accommodate a capsule and feeder tube assembly after such assembly has been properly placed into the tree to keep such assembly in its installed position.
Importantly, the preferred embodiment of the invention has attachment tabs integrally formed with the main body of the cover that extend outward from lower and opposing edge portions thereof. These tabs may be formed with openings for attachment screws that are received therethrough which when fully installed draw and maintain the cover tightly onto the contour of the root flair or the trunk. This improves sealing between the lower edge of the housing and the bark of the tree so that treatment chemicals are better confined by the cover and to make the cover more tamperproof. Additionally, a sight window with clear plastic or glass therein can be provided, preferably at the outer end of the cover to allow the technician to ascertain completion of the application of the material being fed into the tree.
These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description and drawing in which: